ON August 17, CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad (CIMB Islamic) jointly inked a partnership agreement together with Yayasan Waqaf Malaysia (YWM) and Yayasan Belia Malaysia (YBM), which will see the continuation of the iTEKAD CIMB Islamic Rider Entrepreneur Programme.
This marks the second edition of the programme, which will be done through the concept of temporary waqaf.
The iTEKAD CIMB Islamic Rider Entrepreneur Programme supports Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) iTEKAD umbrella initiative, which mobilises social finance to help the asnaf and B40 communities achieve financial resilience and generate sustainable income.
The signing took place at Menara CIMB, with signatories chief executive officer of CIMB Islamic Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff, chief executive officer of YWM Prof Dr Amir Shaharuddin and chief executive officer of YBM Datuk Mustapa Othman.
The ceremony was graced by the presence of Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Ahmad Marzuk Shaary, along with chairman of YBM Datuk Dr Suhaimi Ibrahim and chairman of CIMB Islamic Datuk Mohamed Ross Mohd Din. Also in attendance were representatives of the programme partners namely Taylor's Community and online food delivery service provider, foodpanda Malaysia.
GOING BEYOND JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Through this initiative, participants will gain job opportunities as a food delivery rider with foodpanda Malaysia for a period of one year, supplemented with entrepreneurship training provided by Taylor's Community.
The first edition of the programme kicked off with 40 participants, garnering a positive response from the community. This year, an additional 50 participants will be onboarded and required to go through an interview, followed by a four-day bootcamp featuring various aspects of entrepreneurship.
Throughout the four days, participants will be exposed to entrepreneurial skills, including financial management, technical skills and emotional wellbeing. Final participants will be assessed in a pitching session, where they will present their business ideas to a panel of judges, before receiving motorcycle grants and being on boarded as food delivery riders.
Upon successful completion of their one-year work placement with foodpanda Malaysia, the riders can opt to continue their employment or become full-fledged entrepreneurs.
Those who decide on the latter will gain access to the CIMB MicroBiz Ready entrepreneurship training programme, with a special micro financing facility, as well as the Program Keusahawanan Taylor's-CIMB Islamic, which offers business grants.
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
To kick start this initiative, CIMB Islamic and YWM jointly committed a waqaf contribution of RM300,000 as seed funding for the programme, through the application of the waqaf muaqqat (temporary waqaf), while aligning closely with iTEKAD's goal of using social finance instruments like waqaf, zakat and sadaqah.
Besides that, YWM's role in this strategic partnership is as a waqaf fundraiser, whilst YBM is the programme's overall coordinator, mobilising the procurement and distribution of motorcycles to the participants.
Datuk Ahmad Marzuk explained how the concept of temporary waqaf would work.
"Through the application of waqaf muaqqat, the waqaf funds collected will be changed to motorcycles (ayn waqaf) and handed over to YBM as a temporary waqaf, which is bonded for 12 months (waqaf muaqqat).
"Within the same Waqaf period, YBM will hand over the motorcycles to the programme participants as ariyah or commonly known as loans. Once the waqaf period is concluded, the motorcycles will be given to the participants as gifts (hibah) upon successful completion of the programme within the agreed terms and conditions.
"Waqaf products used in this programme are a priority in the current administration of Islamic affairs, as it is aimed at providing assistance to those in need, especially the asnaf and B40 communities," he said.
Ahmad Shahriman also highlighted the importance of the rider programme in providing economic assistance to participants, as well as entrepreneurship skills that will help them improve their livelihoods.
"This Merdeka month, and in line with CIMB Group's new brand proposition, 'Moving Forward with You', we are committed to supporting BNM's iTEKAD initiative together with our esteemed programme partners, bringing greater economic empowerment for all participants and further inculcating the spirit of entrepreneurship in Malaysia.
"This is aligned with BNM's value-based intermediation, where the intended outcomes of Shariah are delivered through initiatives that generate positive and sustainable impact to the economy and community," he said.